Annual Employment Report Requirement For Broadcasters and MVPDs Back in Effect

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has published a notice in the Federal Register that the requirement to file an Annual Employment Report is effective immediately. This requirement — entailing the filing of an FCC Form 395-A for multichannel video programming distribution systems (MVPDs) and an FCC Form 396-B for broadcasters — was adopted years ago, but has been suspended pending resolution of issues concerning public access to the data contained in the form. Accordingly, for many years, broadcasters and MVPDs have not been required to file the form. With the suspension lifted, broadcasters and MVPDs subject to the requirement will need to file a report once a year that will, according to the FCC, enable it to compile industry employment trend reports and reports to Congress.